HOW THEY BUILD THEIR NESTS. 131 
they came forth, bringing the wood they had pecked 
out. 
What difficult and patient toil! The making of one 
of these nests requires many days. It is no easy work 
for birds a little bigger than a sparrow to peck out a cir- 
cular opening of two inches in diameter, and more than 
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THE BARBATULA WORKING. 
two inches deep. This done, they dig perpendicularly 
down for about four inches. The cavity thus made is 
their nest. As they are small birds, it takes them a long 
time to finish this piece of carpentering—often two or 
three weeks. There the female lays her eggs and hatches 
